The Left Forum—the largest annual leftist gathering in North America—took place from June 1-3 in New York City, and RLS–NYC was again there, bringing alternative political voices from across North America and Europe through this series of exciting panels:

The Far Right in Government: Hungary, Poland, and TurkeySaturday, June 2nd: 10:00 – 11:50am, Room: 1.103

Across the world, we are witnessing a terrifying rise of right-wing governments. For this panel, we have brought experts from Turkey, Poland, and Hungary—each struggling under the rule of an increasingly far-right regime—to discuss how and why this happened, the current state of affairs as well as state of resistance, and what lessons the rest of us can draw.

Marx at 200: Everything Old Is Young AgainSaturday, June 2nd: 12:00 – 1:50pm, Room: 1.129

This May 5, we celebrated Karl Marx’s 200th birthday. At this gathering, a diversity of voices will tell short stories about Marx to keep this birthday celebration going. When did you first read Marx? How do you relate his work to contemporary issues, from politics to art to science fiction? Join us for this belated birthday party.

The Black and the Bern: The Rise of Insurgent Black Progressive PoliticsSaturday, June 2nd: 2:00 – 3:50pm, Room: 1.129

Since Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential run, a wave of insurgent Black progressives have been running for elected office around the country. But how are the Black and the Bern(ie) linked? Join us for this wide-ranging discussion, which will touch on reparations, electoral strategy in the age of Trump, and that secret sauce needed to cook up a lasting coalition.

Amidst the crisis of ‘actually existing neoliberal democracy’ today, this panel addresses the theoretical foundations of liberal and radical conceptions of democracy in relation to those of socialist democracy. What are the new premises and visions that will be required in rethinking socialist democracy in the 21st century?

In this acclaimed film about Karl Marx, Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck (I Am Not Your Negro) traces the early years of Marx’s life as a young philosopher and revolutionary. Centered on the burgeoning friendship between Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the film details Marx’s experiences with political repression during his years in Paris, Brussels, and London. Join us for a free screening of The Young Karl Marx (2017, 118 minutes) and reflect on the dilemmas as well as promises of an international socialist movement, then and now.